Study shows that income is a real barrier to cat sterilization

In a recent study, “low income” was determined to be the real barrier to whether house cats were neutered or not.

A new study in the Journal of the American Veterinary Association reports that the vast majority — at least 80% — of pet cats in U.S. households are neutered, with middle-to higher-income households reporting rates of over 90%. in fact, in households earning $35,000 or more annually, 93% of cats were neutered compared to 51% of cats in households earning less than $35,000.

“Up until now, there has been a lot of speculation that income is a barrier for neuter in lower-income families, but now we have a scientific study establishing that this is the case nationally,” says Becky Robinson, president of Alley Cat Allies.

Indeed, while it’s good news to hear that a high percentage of people understand the importance of sterilizing their pets, it’s clear, and not surprising, that people with few resources are able to provide their pets with this necessary surgery.

This certainly underscores the value of supporting organizations that promote and provide low cost to free spay/neuter for low income residents, and that the answers to pet overpopulation are not so much in new laws or breeding permits, but in directing resources towards sterilizing pets of low income pet owners.

As Wendy Anderson, director of law and policy for Alley Cat Allies points out, house cats represent only part of the overall population of cats in any city. “Previous research has shown there may be just as many stray and feral cats in the U.S. as pet cats, and most of these cats are intact and breeding,” she says. So intact cats are more often then not in low income homes or abandoned strays on the streets. The correlation is easy to see: if people sterilize their cats, they are less likely to be dumping their cats too.

Overall, the study concluded that there are approximately 82.4 million pet cats in the United States, living in a total of 36.8 million households. One third of these households reported adopting at least one of their cats as a stray.

For more information about the study, including a link to the article abstract and related images, visit www.alleycat.org/research.

About the Author

Cathy M. Rosenthal has more than 25 years of experience in public relations, communications and humane education in the animal welfare field. She has worked for local humane societies and national humane groups, appearing on hundreds of television and radio news and public affairs programs to address animal issues. She currently is a consultant for local and national animal welfare organizations, writing grants, annual reports and other marketing materials. She is also the author of several children's books about animals.